Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say

“One afternoon author Patsy Clairmont found herself on an airplane, sitting next to a young man. She writes, ‘I had already observed something about this young man when I was being seated. He called me ‘Ma’am.’ at the time I thought, ‘Either he thinks I’m ancient, or he’s from the South where they still teach manners, or he’s in the service. I decided latter was the most likely, so I asked, ‘You in the service?’
‘Yes, Ma’am, I am.’
‘What branch?’
‘Marines.’
‘Hey, Marine, where are you coming from?’
Operation desert Storm, Ma’am.’
‘No kidding? Desert Storm! How long were you there?’ I asked. ‘A year and a half.’ I’m on the way home. My family will be at the airport. I then commented that he must have thought about returning to his family and home many times while he was in the Middle East. ‘Oh, no, Ma’am, he replied. ‘We were taught never to think of what might never be, but to be fully available right where we were.’” (Focus on the Family, July, 1993, p. 5)
Wow! What commitment that this soldier had to the military and what his commanders told him. I couldn’t help but think about the soldiers last words here, “to be fully available right where we were.” Could you imagine the difference Christians could make if they made that same commitment. The commitment to be fully available right where we are, right where we are placed. To many Christians spend time wishing they were in a different place or in a different position instead of making the commitment to be fully available right where they are. God has placed us where we are for a reason. And when He is Lord in our life we are fully available to Him for whatever purpose He may have for us.
We have been dealing with questions that Jesus asked in our series. This morning we will look at a question from Christ that strikes at the heart of our commitment and His Lordship in our lives. It’s a question that can hit hard.
Luke 6:46-49
This question is a question that lands with a punch. It’s a hard hitting question that leaves an impact. It’s interesting to note that in a issue of Tabletalk it says that to repeat a person’s name is a Hebrew expression of intimacy. When God speaks to Abraham at Mount Moriah as he is about to plunge a knife into the breast of Isaac, He says, ‘Abraham, Abraham.’ Or when God encourages Jacob in his old age to take the trip to Egypt, He says, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ Compare the call of Moses from the burning bush: ‘Moses, Moses,’ or the call of Samuel in the night ‘Samuel, Samuel.’ Or consider David’s cry of agony, ‘Absalom, Absalom.’ Jesus’ cry of desperation from the cross, ‘My God, my God.“ Where Jesus confronted Martha, when He warned Peter, and when He wept over Jerusalem--in each case the word repeated for intimacy’s sake. When he asks the question, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and then do not do what I say? It seems like maybe he was trying to say, “Why do you act like we are close, why do pretend to have this deep relationship with me and then do not do what I say.” You see this was a question for those who claimed to follow Christ yet maybe their actions showed differently. But maybe it was also for that person in the crowd who really did believe in Jesus yet they had not fully surrendered. This morning we will look at why “Lord” needs to be more than a word on our tongue. The first answer is simple.